Frightened Deceit
by icedragongurl
Summary: Skywise stumbles upon Foxtail a pretty young male elf... but is HE... really a she? ... REWRITTEN!
1. Chapter 1 Old Version

**Title:** Frightened Deceit

**Author:** icedragongurl

**Show:** Elf Quest

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Elf Quest, Wendy and Richard Pini do… I only own Foxtail

**Warnings:** Cursing… fighting…ermmmmmmm… sweatdrop that's all so far

**Subject:** Drama, adventure, a little angst, maybe romance… never know

**Chapters: **1/**8**

The forest was quiet and still, it had rained for three days straight and finally it had stopped. The mist from day break still lingered and the dew clung to the leaves on the trees. What looked like a small child from a distance, walked softly through the grass, silver hair shining in the early morning sunlight. Skywise was no boy, he was an elf, small and youthful looking as were most of the other elves.

He was like a brother to the chief of the Wolfriders, the pack of elves that he had grown up in. Ever since they had managed to recreate the Holt, he started to take an early morning hike through the forest, patrolling the Holts borders. It had started out like a simple old normal day as it usually was. He stalked the borders looking for anything suspicious, but not seeing anything out of the ordinary. Skywise sighed aloud and played with the stone tied loosely around his neck.

Not noticing the unnatural lump on the ground hidden by the long grass Skywise tripped and fell flat on his face. Pushing himself up and coughing at the dirt he sat back on his butt. There lying in the middle of the border… was a young male elf. He had spiky short red hair and a very feminine face; it was almost scary how if you looked at the boy from a distance you would have thought it was a woman with short hair.

The boy was unconscious with a few gashes, bruises, and burns lingered on the boys pale skin. He had clearly been attacked by something or someone! Skywise rolled the boy over onto his back, bandages tied around his chest and a loose shirt thrown over the bandages. The boys face was burning hot and it was clear he had a fever, almost immediately after Skywise sent for Leetah and Cutter.

Shortly he was joined by his friend and chief, and the sun tanned healer. Cutter was unsure about the strange elf. Who was he? Where had he come from? There were no other places anywhere close to the border where other elves lived. Leetah felt the boys' forehead and realized the same as Skywise; the boy indeed had a fever. Leetah looked over at her Lifemate with a clear hesitation, waiting for a reaction. The reaction came as a brief nod of approval. Immediately the two male elves lifted the unconscious boy onto Cutters wolf and they headed back towards the Holt. They planned to find out and help this boy as long as he meant no harm.

Foxtail sat up immediately in fear and shock, she had no idea where she was, she was lying on furs and pelts with her shirt and bandages still intact. Almost seconds after she had awoken she was joined by a tall dark skinned, red haired she-elf. The she-elf smiled at her and nodded,

"My name's Leetah, you are safe, you can relax."

Foxtail nodded and propped herself against the wall and the furs. She eyed the other elf,

"Where am I?"

Leetah smiled softly, and a small blonde haired, also tanned child elf peeked its head to look in. When it saw her, its eyes went wide and the head vanished to be replaced with shouts of,

"HE'S UP! HE'S UP!"  
Only one thought went through her mind,

'He! I'm not a he? Do I look like a- … okay so maybe I do…'

She sighed deeply,

"I'm Foxtail... I'm sorry if I unconvinced you"

Leetah shook her head as another elf joined her, a male elf with platinum blonde hair in a ponytail. He held himself with strength. He was obviously the leader. The male eyed her in suspicion.

"Who are you? What were you doing at our borders?"

Foxtail blinked one… twice… then tilted her head in confusion, borders? The male gave her a contemplating look,

"You have no idea do you?"

She shook her head; she didn't have any recollection of what had happened before she passed out. She just knew that she was running away from something that was after her. That's when it hit her. Humans!

"Humans!"

She shouted in a panic,

"That's what it was! I was wandering through the forest when I was attacked by humans! I ran and the burned me, slashed at me, beat me. I was lucky enough to get away. They kind of just froze and then turned and ran. I passed out minutes after they left!"

The chiefs' eyes went wide in a mixture of fear, horror, disgust, and shock. Leetah took her quivering hand into her own in compassion before turning to the other elf and with a serious face she said,

"Cutter, I believe her. What she says is true. From your stories, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened. Let's help her. Cutter?"

The male elf called Cutter glanced from Leetah to Foxtail to Leetah before sighing in defeat,

"Fine. She can stay. If anything happens then will you take responsibility of her actions Leetah?"

The dark skinned elf nodded hesitantly, the chief Cutter smiled and shook his head in exasperation.

"You can be so stubborn Lifemate…"

Leetah nodded with a smile. She turned back to Foxtail and smiled

"Rest, Cutter and I will come back and introduce you to the pack."

Foxtail nodded and watched as the two left and another elf joined her shortly after. Another male with silver hair this time, he looked at her as if wondering what she was. She quirked her eyebrow in annoyance, this guy was so annoying for absolutely no reason! At the same time he was definitely good looking and extremely attractive. The outfit allowed her to leave little to imagination. She blushed and looked away.

"I'm Skywise. What's your name?"

Foxtail looked back at him.

"Foxtail, nice to meet you Skywise"

Skywise nodded,

"Indeed."

Suddenly his face was just inches from her own.

"You're not a guy are you?"

She blinked in shock and chuckled to herself. Then with an annoyingly smug smile she said,

"That's for me to know and for you to find out."

Skywise smirked back at her,

"I look forward to the challenge."

Foxtail smirked back.

"Indeed"

TBC:

Foxtail is a girl! She looks so much like guy! Skywise finds out the truth and she begs him to keep the secret. He agrees but to what extent?


	2. Chapter 1 New Version

**Title:** Frightened Deceit

**Author:** Icedragongurl

**Show:** Elf Quest

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Elf Quest, Wendy and Richard Pini do… I only own Ravenstar

**Warnings:** At this very moment I would say, fighting, violence… really that's it.

**Couples: **All of the canon ones, as well as Skywise/OC

**Chapter: **One

**Author Notes: **I rewrote this entire thing, simply because I could. So I did. Enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

After three days of rain, the forest was at long last quiet and still. A mist from day break still lingered, and the fresh dew clung to the leaves upon the trees. Skywise walked softly through the tall grass, his silver hair shining in the early morning sunlight. Ever since they'd managed to recreate the holt, he had taken it upon himself to do a patrol. Everything was peaceful, Skywise was determined to keep it that way. Everything that the Wolfriders had been through, they deserved this.

He sighed aloud, fingers playing with the lodestone around his neck. The creatures that inhabited the surrounding forest were only just awakening. A soft breeze made the grass stir around him. Nothing was going to happen, that much he was certain of. There weren't any humans to be seen for miles, and without having them to worry about… the holt was safe. Closing his eyes, Skywise stretched his arms above him, trying to work out any kinks he had. Falling asleep while stargazing was never a good idea, thankfully Cutter had come looking for him.

Not paying attention to what was in front of him, his foot caught on something. Down he went, falling flat on his face. Skywise pushed himself back up, spitting out the dirt that had gotten into his mouth. As he lifted himself into a crouching position, Skywise noticed what he'd tripped on. Lying in the middle of the border, was what appeared to be a young male elf. Hesitantly the Wolfrider took in the strangers features. He had short spiky red hair, and a kinda girly looking face. There were gashes and burns marring the elf's pale skin. Given the state of unconsciousness, it only made sense that the red head must have been ambushed!

Rolling the strange elf onto his back, Skywise took note of the bandages which were wrapped around his chest, a loose shirt tossed over it. His cheeks were a brilliant shade of red, and it was clear that a fever was burning through the boy. Uncertain how else to react, Skywise sent for Cutter and Leetah. As he waited for their arrival, he kept watch of the surrounding area. Uncertain how fresh the wounds were, it was best to make sure that who ever may have inflicted this damage wasn't in their territory. Suddenly, what had once been peaceful, was now tense and hostile.

Within no time at all, he was joined by his chief, and the sun tanned healed. Cutter stood rigidly, arms firmly crossed upon his chest. Leetah had already rushed the strangers aid. Quietly the Skywise told his friend of what had transpired. Silently the blonde elf listened, while watching his lifemate protectively. The tan hands were swift with her work, checking all of the wounds. After taking note of how warm the skin felt, she glanced at her lover with obvious hesitation. The response was a brief nod of approval. Immediately the two male elves hoisted the unconscious boy onto Cutters wolf. With that they headed back towards the Holt. Determined to reserve any judgment until the strangers true nature could be decided.

Grey eyes snapped open as terror took a firm hold of Ravenstar, she had no idea where she was. Survival instincts kicked on, surveying the surroundings for a means of escape. Her tension did not ease, when she realized that she was lying upon a variety of animal furs and pelts. Pleased to see that her bandages had not been touched, though her fear was not appeased. Muscles tightened as a strange face joined her, a elegant dark-skinned she-elf with copper hair. Ravenstar eyed her cautiously, as the elf smiled in response.

"My name is Leetah. You are safe here, no harm will come to you."

Ravenstar watched her silently as she propped her back up against the back wall. She was hesitant when it came to new faces, and not very trusting of new places. It came from personal experience, living on ones own tended to make an elf rather paranoid. When she at last spoke, her voice was rough from thirst. Running for days without any real water had a bad habit of doing that.

"Where am I?" The she-elf Leetah handed her a cup of water. At first Ravenstar just stared at it for a long moment, before hesitantly accepting it. Before she got an answer to her question, movement in the corner of her vision distracted her. In the entrance, a small blonde elf-child peeked its head to look in. When their gazes met, its eyes went wide and quickly it vanished. Suddenly shouts could be heard,

"HE'S UP! HE'S UP!" Ravenstar could feel her jaw drop in shock. Only one thought was running through her head '_He! I'm not a he! Do I look like a-…'_ her hand reached up to touch her hair… _'Okay…maybe I do…'_ She let out a deep sigh. All of the tension within her muscles eased away. Ravenstar took a drink of the water before speaking once more, her tone was more apologetic and tired.

"I'm…called Shadow-Hunter. Shade for short. Sorry if I caused you any trouble." Leetah shook her head,

"No trouble at all. Your presence was quite a surprise though." Another elf came to join them. This time a male, with white-blonde hair in a ponytail. He held himself with strength, making it rather obvious that he was the leader of this group. The male moved to stand beside Leetah, even as he did so he watched Ravenstar with suspicion. When he spoke, it supported the chief theory.

"What were you doing at our borders?" Ravenstar blinked a few times in confusion. Borders? What in the name of the High Ones was he talking about? The blonde gave her a contemplating look,

"You have no idea, do you?" She shook her head, honestly she didn't have any really recollection of what had happened before she'd passed out. There was running, she'd been trying to escape something that had been after her. Ravenstar scowled as she tried to remember what it had been. What had she been so frightened of? What…Her eyes went wide as the realization dawned. Humans! That's what it had been! Humans!

"Humans!" She'd shouted in a panic. The two elves seemed taken aback,

"That's what it was! I was trying to get away from a group of human hunters! They'd been taking slaves, they were beating us and cutting us! I was lucky to escape! Once I had gotten to that field… the humans just stopped. They'd given me this nasty look before leaving me alone! I can't remember anything else…" She fought back the urge to cry, a survivor didn't show tears. The chief's eyes went wide with horror and disgust. Ravenstar was surprised as Leetah took her quivering hand into her own in compassion, before turning to the other elf. Her expression was serious as she spoke calmly,

"Cutter, I believe him. From your stories, I'm not surprised that the humans would do such a terrible thing. We should help him." Cutter glanced from Leetah to Ravenstar, then back again. He then let out a sigh of defeat,

"Fine. He can stay, but if anything happens you'll be the one that has to take responsibility for his actions." The healer nodded firmly, and the chief smiled affectionately in response.

"I sometimes forget how stubborn you can be Lifemate." Leetah gave him a small smile back. Once Cutter had left, Ravenstar had opened her mouth to speak but was silenced.

"Don't worry. I will honor your desire to keep the truth secret, but I assure you… these elves will not judge you for being a female or male. They're all treated equally. Sometimes to a degree which even surprises me." The younger elf watched her silently, hands still held comfortingly. After a long moment of silence Ravenstar spoke,

"Not everyone has felt that way. I came from a place where women were only useful for two things. The men hunted and the females stayed home. My father wanted a boy, but he got me. So… I've gotten used to playing the part of a guy." Her words were hollow and the healer could sense that. Leetah couldn't help but feel sorrow for the poor girl. When she spoke, the sadness was still lingered,

"Doesn't mean you don't still want to have others realize what you really are." Grey eyes watched her with surprise, no one had ever been so honest before. It was true, not once had anyone truly realized. They just accepted what she said, and what they saw. An illusion to fool even the wisest of men. A survival method, embedded so deeply into her very being that it was utterly pathetic. Whenever her hair was too long, without thinking…she'd cut it. Bindings so tight, once it had been suffocating but now… it was easy. Unconsciously Ravenstar squeezed Leetah's hand,

"You should rest. Cutter and I will be back later to introduce you to the rest of the Wolfriders. So until then… sleep." Ravenstar nodded, before almost reluctantly letting go of her hand. She watched her leave, and after a few long lonely moments… she let her eyes shut. Always one to be a very light sleeper, all too soon the sound of approaching footsteps made her jolt back awake. A silver haired male was watching her, as if wondering exactly what she was.

Ravenstar couldn't help but be irritated by the way he seemed to be sizing her up. She quirked an eyebrow in annoyance, there was something about him that was getting on her nerves. Even so, the female part of her brain practically purred with appreciation. He was certainly visually attractive, not too mention his outfit left not a whole lot to imagination. She looked away before the blush could take hold. When he spoke, it was obvious that he was curious about her,

"I'm Skywise. What's yer name?" Ravenstar looked back at him again. She gave him a once over before speaking,

"Shadow-Hunter. You can call me Shade." He cocked his head to the side, and it reminded her of what a confused dog did. For the longest time he didn't say anything else, just watched her. Then, before she could react, his face was just inches from her own. Without being able to stifle it, a blush lit up her cheeks. When he spoke, it was with a confident little smirk,

"You're not really a guy. Am I right?" She blinked in shock what were the odds? Chuckling to herself then with an equally smug smile she answered with,

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Skywise grinned down at her, and she just continued to smile right back. Never one to back down from a dare, it was one of her biggest weaknesses. Temptation would be the death of her one day. He smirked, blue eyes sparkling mischievously,

"Always did enjoy a good challenge." He said confidently, as he finally backed off. Ravenstar could finally breath freely again, she gave him a cheeky smile before responding with,

"Always did enjoy winning." Skywise's eyes widened briefly with shock. The stun faded quickly though. As he left the room, she could hear him chuckling in amusement. Ravenstar couldn't help but wonder if this really was such a good idea on her part.

TBC: I rewrote this entire thing. I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know!


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